Destiny Altered
by FantasyBladeAncient
Summary: Slight AU: Leopold never finds the genie, forcing Regina to wait several more years for her chance to kill him. Leopold and Snow are then forced to flee to George's kingdom for help. It is there Snow meets a certain shepherd turned prince.
1. The Shepherd Who Would Be King

Author's Note: This is a story that just popped into my head the other day while being frustrated by the way that James/David and Snow/Mary just can't seem to catch a break. So I thought of what would have happened if fate were a little different and King Leopold never found the genie, pushing back the evil Queen's plot to kill him and seize the kingdom back by a few years. In this story, Leopold survives her attack and he and Snow flee to George's castle for help in preventing his kingdom from falling to the Queen. There Snow finds a certain shepherd turned prince. BTW, the next chapter of my other fic 'Breaking the Curse.' should be up in about a week or so.

James walks toward his house after a hard day working on his farm dreading the next conversation with his mother. Times had always been tough for his family, but since his father died things were worse. Despite his best efforts, the farm was going bankrupt. For the past three weeks, James' mother had been trying to convince him to marry a girl from a wealthy family for her dowry so they could save the farm.

James steadfastly refuses. He has always known he will marry for love. He has not yet found anyone who has touched his heart, but knows that one day he will. He is absorbed in his thoughts when a strange man appears before him out of thin air.

"Who are you?" James asks, startled as he takes in the stranger's appearance. He has green skin and from the way he appeared, James figures he must be a wizard.

"I am Rumplestiltskin," the man says. "I am here because today is your lucky day."

"Is that you son?" his mother asks, as she exits the house. She instantly pales upon seeing Rumplestiltskin. "What are you doing here?" she demands.

"I am here to offer your son the deal of a lifetime," Rumplestiltskin replies.

"I'm not interested in your deals," she answers. "Not a day went by that my husband didn't regret the deal he made with you."

"What deal?" James asks, confused.

"Oh you mean your mother never told you?" Rumplestiltskin asks delighted. "Well this certainly complicates matters."

"What deal did you make with him?" James asks.

"Just before you were born, our farm was in bad shape," his mother says, ashamed. "Worse than it is now. We were going to lose everything and didn't have the money to raise you or your brother."

"Brother?" James asks. "What brother?"

"Your twin brother," his mother answers. "Rumplestiltskin came to us offering us a fortune for him. He said a wealthy couple who couldn't have a child desperately wanted a son. Faced with the prospect of having no home for either of you, your father agreed to his deal so both of you would have better lives."

"I don't believe it," James says. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because your father was so ashamed of the deal," his mother answers. "He felt that he should have found a way to raise both you and your brother."

"That was why he was drunk half the time," James says, "and why the farm fell back into disrepair."

"That's right," his mother answers.

"So what do you want me to do?" James asks.

"I regret to inform you that your brother has died," Rumplestiltskin responds.

"What?" James' mother asks, sinking to the ground. "He's dead? How?"

"He died a hero," Rumplestiltskin says, "he slayed a dragon that was terrorizing the northern part of the kingdom and was killed in the process."

"But I heard that the prince was going to go slay the dragon," James says confused.

"And so he did," Rumplestiltskin says.

"But..." James says, before his mother interrupts him.

"The wealthy couple was the king and queen?" his mother asks in shock.

"That is correct," Rumplestiltskin answers. "Your son was raised by the royal family and was destined to be king before his untimely demise."

"I don't believe it," James says.

"Believe it," Rumplestiltskin says. "I also have other news for you. King George is dying. His physicians have just diagnosed him with a rare illness that has no magical cure. He will be dead within the year and without an heir to continue the royal bloodline..."

"The nobility will start fighting each other for the honor of being king," James says. "I read in history class the last time this happened thousands of people were killed and the kingdom was invaded by outside forces."

"Exactly," Rumplestiltskin says. "As of now there are only eight people who know the prince was killed, the three of us, the king, his chief advisor, and the three soldiers that managed to survive the dragon slaying. You are to be taken to the castle to take your brother's place and within the year you will be king."

"Son you can't do this," his mother says. "I can't lose you."

"I have no choice," James says. "I couldn't live with myself if the kingdom fell and I could prevent it."

"So you'll do it?" Rumplestiltskin asks.

"Yes," James says, "but what of my mother?"

"King George has promised to provide for her. She will have enough gold to hire helpers to run the farm and live out the rest of her life in peace, but you cannot have regular contact with her for fear that you will be discovered," Rumplestiltskin says. "You will be able to write her letters every once in a while, but no one can know you're not the prince."

"But I don't know anything about..." James begins.

"Being a prince?" Rumplestiltskin finishes. "No worries. The king has sent word throughout the kingdom that the battle with the dragon left Prince James injured and the nature of the wounds prevents magical healing. It will take some months for him to heal. During this time, the king's advisor will teach you all that you need to know to be king. Hopefully you will be ready by the time the king falls too ill to rule."

"I see," James says.

"Wait, what do you get out of this deal?" his mother asks.

"The king had some information I needed," Rumplestiltskin says. "He traded it to me for producing an answer to his kingdom's woes."

"What information?" James asks.

"That's none of your concern," Rumplestiltskin answers. "Now I suggest you say goodbye to your mother. It may be quite some time before you see her again."

James turns back to his mother.

"Son, I'm sorry about all this," she says. "I should never have agreed to Rumplestiltskin's deal. Then we wouldn't be in this mess."

"It's all right mother," James says, becoming nervous. "I just hope that I can live up to being king."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," his mother answers, taking off her wedding ring and handing it to him.

"Mom, why are you giving this to me?" James asks confused.

"I was wrong to try to force you to marry for money," she says. "Your father and I were truly in love when we married, and I should have learned my lesson after selling your brother about denying love for money. I knew it may not befit a king, but I want you to find a girl that you truly love and give her that ring."

"I will," James promises. "I love you mom."

"I love you too," his mother says, hugging him.

"Time to go," Rumplestiltskin says.

"Can I just gather my things first?" James asks.

"You won't need any of your things," Rumplestiltskin says. "I imagine from the looks of this place, nothing you own will be fitting for a king and any personal objects of yours may raise suspicions if the servants found them."

James is about to give a nasty reply, before realizing that Rumplestiltskin may be right.

"Very well," James responds. "How are we traveling?"

"By magic of course," Rumplestiltskin says. "The prince is supposed to be at the castle recuperating from his wounds, so we can't risk anyone seeing you on a horse."

Rumplestiltskin grabs James' arm and teleports the two of them away, leaving James' mother to worry about him.


	2. The Takeover

Snow White stands in front of the mirror surveying her appearance. She is once again dressed in an elegant white gown preparing for a ball her stepmother has planned for her. It is her hope that she will fall in love with someone at the ball. Over the years she's been approached by many princes from neighboring kingdoms, but most of them are completely arrogant and she didn't want to spend the rest of the day with them, much less the rest of her life. The few princes that she could tolerate already had significant others and the only one that was unattached that she could stand was Prince Thomas, but there was no real chemistry between them.

The only prince that she had never met was Prince James, the one from their nearest neighbor and strongest ally. She asked her stepmother about this and she merely replied that Prince James wasn't her type and that she didn't want to risk the kingdom's alliance with the scene that would occur if they met. Upon hearing this, Snow could only surmise that this prince was much worse than the princes she had already met. She shuddered to think what would happen when he became king. Regina reassured her that most princes grew more mature after a few months on the throne, and those that didn't would probably die when someone invaded their kingdoms because of their arrogance.

That left her speechless for a while. Her whole life she had dreamed of marrying for true love and had begun to despair over ever finding it, but after Regina saying that the kingdoms of arrogance princes fell, she began thinking that whomever she chose would also have to be capable of helping her rule the kingdom. It wasn't just her life she had to be concerned about, but the lives of everyone in her kingdom.

That was why, as she got ready for the ball, she wondered if she should just give up on finding true love and choose someone she could tolerate and who would be a kind and just co-ruler. She looked in the mirror one more time and smiled at her reflection. For a second she contemplated the dress. Her father had always said she looked stunning in white and nearly all her dresses were white. She did have gowns of other colors for weddings of course, since it was inappropriate for anyone but the bride to be wearing white during those occasions.

She also had some clothes appropriate for trekking through the forest. Her mother had loved the forest and she always felt closest to her mother when walking through the woods.

It was on one of these trips that she met her best friend, Red. A gersuan tiger, a rare magical creature, attacked and killed her guard. Snow was certain the tiger would kill her as well, when out of nowhere a girl in a red cloak appeared and shot the tiger in the heart with her bow, saving Snow's life.

Snow thanked the girl, and upon hearing how she saved the life of his daughter, King Leopold invited her to stay in the castle as Snow's new personal guard. Red initially refused, and eventually told Snow that she was a werewolf. If she didn't wear the cloak every full moon, she would turn into a wolf and attack anyone near her. She found out by accident when she didn't wear her cloak one full moon and nearly killed her true love, Peter. Fortunately, her grandmother found her in time and got the cloak onto her.

Peter didn't care about her curse and proposed to her, but she refused, hating herself and fled into the woods. After talking for a while, Red admitted she ran because she didn't want to bring a child into the world with this curse. Sensing her desperation, Snow consulted the Blue Fairy, who told her a wizard had recently discovered an herb that if taken regularly when pregnant, would prevent the werewolf gene from passing on.

Upon learning this, Red hugged Snow and went home to find Peter. The two were soon married with Snow attending the ceremony. Red discussed it with Peter, and decided to accept the king's offer. Red became Snow's personal guard when leaving the castle and Peter became a blacksmith helping to make weapons for King Leopold's army. Red's grandmother decided to stay in her village, but visited her granddaughter frequently. Snow agreed to keep Red's condition a secret as long as she made sure to wear her cloak during the full moon.

"Snow, come on," Red's voice calls breaking her out of her reverie. "Everyone is waiting for your grand entrance."

"I'm coming," Snow says.

"You appeared deep in thought," Red says. "What were you thinking about?"

"Just about my dress color," Snow responds. "Except for weddings, I always wear white. I was thinking about what would happen if I wore a different colored dress for the ball tonight."

"A non-white dress?" Red asks in mock horror. "What a scandal that would be. Maybe you could wear a red dress and change your name to Fire Red and I'll get a white cloak, and be known as White."

"Very funny," Snow says laughing. "You always know how to cheer me up."

"You were thinking about more than just what color dress you wear," Red says.

"It's just, what if I never find my true love?" Snow asks, depressed. "I'm twenty-five. Most princesses are married by twenty-one."

"Don't worry," Red says. "I'm sure one day you'll find your love. If anyone deserves happiness it's you."

"Thank you," Snow says. "Well it's time to make my appearance."

* * *

Snow walks into the room to find it packed with young eligible men. Nearly all of the unmarried nobility that is around her age is here, as well as many commoners from around the castle. How she is supposed to find true love in a ball like this, she has no idea.

She mingles with the guests for a little while, but doesn't really click with anyone.

After about an hour, Snow goes off to a corner and finds Red.

"So how's it going?" Red asks.

"Not so good," Snow says. "Most of the nobility here is as bad as the princes. They're only interested in me because I can make them king one day and there's been no spark with the ones that aren't nobility. Maybe I should just give up on true love."

"No," Red gasps, shocked. "Don't ever give up on true love. You can't put a timeline on true love."

"But I'm the crown princess," Snow says. "One day I'll rule the kingdom and I'll need a king by my side."

"You don't need a king," Red says. "You're more than capable of ruling without one."

"I know that," Snow says, "but there are a lot of sexist monarchs who don't believe a woman is capable of ruling alone. They'll think me weak and may invade. That would prove a mistake since my father has trained me in military tactics, but that would expend lives and resources for no good reason."

Red is about to respond when Queen Regina takes the dais.

"Good evening everyone," Regina says. "Welcome to the ball commemorating my stepdaughter's twenty-fifth birthday. I hope you're all enjoying yourselves. I'd like to propose a toast to the fairest of them all, Snow White."

Everyone raises their glasses and drinks. The king's guard, as is customary, checks it first for poison, and is shocked when he discovers it is poisoned.

Cora, the queen's mother, spits out her drink in horror.

"What wrong?" Snow asks in concern.

"Someone poisoned the drinks," King Leopold says in concern.

"Who would do such a thing?" Red asks.

"I would," Regina says coming down from the dais.

"You!" Leopold, Cora, Snow, and Red shout in unison.

"Yes," Regina says.

"But why?" Leopold asks. "Why would you want to kill all these people?"

"I don't want to kill them all," Regina says, "just you, my dear husband. Yours was the only drink that was poisoned. The rest of the drinks contained a magic potion that will place the others under my control."

"That's impossible," Cora says. "You have no magic."

"But I do," Regina says as she reaches into her mother's chest and magically removes her heart. "Rumplestiltskin, I have your payment."

As she says this, the strange man appears before them. "Ah the heart of a dark sorceress," Rumplestiltskin says. "One of the last things I need to complete my curse. I thank you for your efforts."

He bows and disappears.

"Take her to the dungeon," Regina orders.

The guards move to carry Cora off to the dungeons, but King Leopold intervenes.

"Wait," he says. "I command you to stop."

"Who are you?" a guard asks.

"My potion made them forget who you are," Regina explains. "As far as they're concerned the two of you never existed and I've always been queen. It's not just the guests and guards in this room who are affected either. I've been feeding the potion to guests at balls for years and I made sure that every member of your army... I mean _my_ army drank it too. I would have fed the potion to the neighboring monarchs as well, but that increased my chances of detection. I may face some problems from them when they realize what I've done, but by then the two of you will be dead and I'll have cemented my hold on the kingdom."

"Why have you done this?" Snow asks, unwilling to believe this woman was the kind stepmother she had known all these years.

"For revenge," Regina says.

"Revenge for what?" Red asks, confused.

"I never wanted to be queen," Regina says. "I didn't know it at the time, but my power hungry mother set up that accident that allowed me to save Snow White's life. She spent her whole life in the quest for power and only married my father because he could give her a title. I wouldn't put it past her to have been responsible for your wife's death."

Leopold pales at this pronouncement. "But why didn't you just turn my offer down?" Leopold asks. "I wouldn't have forced you to marry me."

"No, but my mother would," Regina says. "My father truly loved my mother once, but once she got what she wanted from him, she turned him into her slave. He tried to shield me from her wrath when she got mad at me, but he was no match for her magic. Now her magic is gone and my father can be free of her cruel games."

"But that still doesn't explain why you want revenge on Leopold," Red says. "He had nothing to do with Cora's plans."

"I don't want revenge on Leopold," Regina says. "I want revenge on Snow White."

"My daughter has done nothing to you," Leopold protests, turning to his daughter to find her face had gone completely white.

"Oh yes she has," Regina says. "I was in love with someone when you made your proposal. His name was Daniel. Unfortunately, for me, he was a lowly stable boy. Not someone who could satisfy my mother's quest for power."

"Regina..." Snow begins.

"I planned to run off with him," Regina says. "Only Snow White found out about our plans. I explained the situation to her and she promised not to tell anyone. Only she lied, she told my mother."

"I was only trying to help," Snow protests, "I didn't want you to lose your mother, like I lost mine."

"Well maybe your mother was a kind person who actually loved you," Regina says. "Mine is a hateful hag, who did nothing but make my life miserable. Do you know what happened to Daniel because of you?"

"Your mother told me he didn't really love you and ran off after stealing a lot of gold from your storehouse," Snow says with tears in her eyes, as she realizes that what Cora told her wasn't true.

"That was a lie," Regina says. "She murdered him in front of me."

Leopold and Snow both gasp.

"Ever since then I wished that I had let you die, and made plans to kill you," Regina continues. "But then I decided that death would be too good a fate for you. I'm going to let you live and make you suffer. Your suffering will begin with your dear father's death."

Regina advances on the king, preparing to rip out Leopold's heart, when there is an explosion from behind her. She turns around in surprise to find the fireworks meant for the end of the ball, going off in the center of the room. She quickly uses her magic to extinguish the flames, and then turns back around to find Leopold, Snow, and Red gone.

"No!" she yells in fury, and then turns to her guards. "Find them at once. Don't let them escape the castle!"


	3. The First Test

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow the season finale was just great. Glad to be Snow and Charming finally got their memories back, but am disappointed that I'll have to wait until next season to see the big reunion scene between the two of them and Emma.

James looks in the mirror, taking in his appearance in his dress armor. Six months and he still can't believe how he looks in the outfits the royal seamstress provides for him. He looks every bit the part of the prince he's replacing. His old friends back home wouldn't even recognize him now. Which he supposes is a good thing if he wants this deception to work.

The last six months have been brutal. He's spent nearly every waking moment with Illom, the king's chief advisor, and one of only four people in the kingdom besides the king who knows of the real prince's death. The other three are the surviving soldiers who went to slay the dragon with the real prince.

His time with them was the only time he ever had any form of relaxation. They drilled him on combat extensively. He quickly proved to be a capable warrior. His father had been a decorated officer in the king's army and he had trained James for years, hoping that one day he too would become an officer. Then a few days before he was going to enlist, his father came to him and said he must never enlist in the army, no matter what happened.

He never understood his father's abrupt change of heart. He questioned him about it relentlessly, but never got an answer. Now he understood. Rumplestiltskin must have learned of his plans to enlist and come to his father to tell him not to let him. He could only imagine what would have happened if the son of a shepherd, who looked exactly, like the crown prince turned up in the army. He quickly proved to be equal to his brother in battle tactics and fighting skills, so his lessons in those were brief, while Illom focused on his weaknesses.

For the majority of his time, though, he remained in his suite in the palace, since he was supposed to be recovering from wounds. Until today, he was essentially a prisoner. Of course, his prison was bigger that his entire house back home and it was only to protect him until he was ready to act like a prince. A royal healer kept the other advisors apprised of his condition. He never actually saw this healer, and Illom told him that the healer didn't know of the real prince's death, so he wondered what exactly someone told her.

The king visited him rarely and when he did, he was cold to him. He could only imagine how he felt. While his brother wasn't the king's blood, he and his wife had raised him from birth. Now his son was dead and he couldn't admit it to anyone. He would never have a proper funeral, would lie in an unmarked grave with no acknowledgment of his heroism and bravery. Meanwhile a stranger with his face would take credit for his actions and take over his life.

No, James can't really blame the king for the way he treats him. His thoughts were broken when the king came in. He looked very ill, rumor of his illness had begun to spread, and with the prince out of commission too, there were rumblings that a few other kingdoms were thinking of invading. That's why the king had decided that James should start making public appearances to reassure the kingdom. They would start with him appearing at a ball tonight in celebration of his slaying the dragon.

"Hello King George," James says.

"Hello father," King George corrects. "Even when we're alone you should address me as father from now on. We can't risk anyone finding out the truth."

"Yes, father," James says.

"From what Illom says, your studies are just about complete," King George continues.

"They are," James acknowledges. "It has been difficult, but I believe I'm ready to begin my new life."

"I know I have been rude to you these past few months," the king says.

"That's all right," James responds. "I understand how you must have felt with your son dead and being unable to admit it to anyone, while a stranger took his place."

"Yes that has been hard," George says, "but I hadn't stopped to consider how you might be doing. Torn away from your life, from everyone you love to live a life you never imagined where one mistake could mean the deaths of thousands."

"Yes it has been difficult," James says, "but I didn't really have anyone close back home except my mother, and I do miss her."

"I understand, but I just want you to know that if your brother could see you, he'd be proud of you," George says.

"Thank you," James says, "but I'm still not sure I'm ready. I don't know any of the prince's mannerisms or personality."

"No need to worry about that," King George says. "The prince is supposed to have gone through a traumatic experience, what with his injuries and my impending death. That is bound to have an effect on a person's personality. You have enough to worry about without trying to change your own personality to match his."

"Thank you," James answers.

"Now I'm here to inform you there's been a slight change in the ball's guest list," King George says.

"What change?" James asks, confused.

"Prince Thomas and his new fiancée, Ella will be arriving tonight to attend the ball," King George explains.

"Prince Thomas was a good friend of the real James," James says. "He was six years younger than me and began accompanying his father and us on hunting trips when he was ten. I...the real prince taught him everything he knows about hunting. "

"That's correct," George replies. "He heard that you were feeling well enough for public appearances and decided to travel here to celebrate your recovery."

"I see," James says. "Illom hasn't told me anything about this Ella though."

"They only met about a month ago at a ball celebrating Thomas' birthday," George explains.

"Do we have any information on her?" James asks.

"No, she was a commoner," George says. "Thomas will probably tell you all about her, though."

"Your majesties, it is time for the ball to begin," Illom announces.

"I'll see you there," the king says, exiting the room.

* * *

Five minutes later, Prince James forces himself to remain calm as he walks down the stairs and greets the guests at this party. This is the first time he is appearing in public and he has to force down his nervousness at this impersonation. If successful, this would be his life from now on.

"James," a voice cries out.

"Thomas," James says, forcing himself to smile brightly. "How have you been?"

"I've been great," Thomas says, "although I've been worried about you."

"Yes, it's been a rough road," James says, "but as you can see I'm fully recovered now."

"Yes, you look great," Thomas agrees, "almost as if you were never injured at all."

"To tell the truth, I was feeling ready to be up and about a month ago, but the healer wanted to make sure I was fully recovered first," James lies. "She said magical wounds can be tricky."

"Yes they can," Thomas agrees. "Now, I want to hear all about how you slayed this dragon."

"Thomas, I'm sure he doesn't really want to think about that right now," a beautiful young woman in a purple dress says. "This is his first time out and about after being injured in this battle."

"Sorry, I didn't think of it like that," Thomas says.

"And you must be Ella," James says.

"You've heard of me?" Ella asks surprised. "I thought you were confined to your bed for the past few months."

"I was," James says, "but Illom has been keeping me advised on important things happening in the kingdom. I've been feeling restless these past few weeks cooped up in my suite, but to tell the truth I only learned of Thomas' engagement a few minutes ago when my father announced you were here."

"I see," Ella says smiling.

"You really must tell me all about yourself," James says.

"There's not much to tell really," Ella says.

"I don't believe that," James says. "Thomas wouldn't have fallen for just anyone. You must be something special."

"Danger! Danger!" a boy of about fourteen cries running into the room. James immediately recognizes his uniform marking him as one of the wizards in training. "We're all in danger! We have a catastrophe on our hands!"

He collapses to the ground, unconscious while the crowd breaks out in excited chatter.

"Calm down, everyone," an old man says, walking into the room. James recognizes the man as senior wizard Marlow. "Young Sam here just got overexcited. While he did indeed pick up traces of dark energy it is far from us and doesn't pose any immediate danger to anyone in this kingdom."

"Sam always was excitable," James says, recalling him from his lessons. "Before my fight with the dragon, he saw a tiger in the castle and ran off yelling for the guards, not realizing it was the pet of a visiting prince and on a leash."

That seemed to ease the worries of the guests and they turned back to the party.

"If you will excuse me I must get Sam to the infirmary, after which I will give him a stern lecture about not running through the castle sending everyone into a panic," James says, picking up the boy.

Marlow, Thomas, and Ella follow him out.

"My prince, while young Sam here did act rashly in his running through the castle, we are in great danger," Marlow says. "Once you deliver Sam to the infirmary you should meet me and your father in the war room. I'm certain Prince Thomas and his lovely fiancée would also be welcome."

Marlow then departs to find the king. James has a sinking feeling that if the party is his first test, then this meeting will be the second, and he has a feeling that it is going to be infinitely more difficult.

* * *

James, Thomas, and Ella find their way fifteen minutes later. Everyone else has already assembled. In addition to the king and head wizard Marlow, the council consists of chief advisor Illom, the heard of the army, General Lance, as well as several other advisors and high ranking soldiers.

"Prince Thomas, how good to see you again," King George says, getting up to shake his hand, "and Lady Ella, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"I only wish it could have been under more pleasant circumstances," Ella says, as everyone sits "So what exactly is the nature of the problem?"

"Some kind of dark magic has fallen over King Leopold's kingdom," Marlow explains. "Whatever the spell was it is incredibly powerful and would have taken years to set up. From what we've been able to determine the center of it is King Leopold's castle."

"Wasn't today Princess Snow White's birthday celebration?" Thomas asks in concern.

"Yes it was," George says grimly, "and to top it all off, there was a massive ball similar to the one Thomas threw on his last birthday. Half the kingdom's nobility was in the castle."

"Has the kingdom fallen?" James asks in concern.

"We're not sure yet," General Lance replies. "I've sent scouts to the castle to try to determine what has happened, but it could be days before they report back."

"I see," George says. "James, what do you think we should do?"

"I think we need to prepare for the worst," James says thinking back on his training. "Until we get confirmation, we need to assume the kingdom has fallen and King Leopold, Queen Regina, and Princess Snow are either dead or prisoners. We also need to assume that whoever did this will not be satisfied with just the one kingdom, prepare our magical defenses so they cannot attack us the same way and prepare for a possible invasion."

"I concur," General Lance says.

"As do I," King George says. "We will strengthen the magic defenses on our castle immediately."

"That is a wise precaution," the Blue Fairy says, flying into the room.

"Blue Fairy," King George says in surprise. He has only seen the leader of the fairies twice in his life and both times great trials for his kingdom had followed, which resulted in barely averted disasters. "Do you know what has happened?"

"I do," the Blue Fairy says. "Queen Regina has turned to dark magic. She has been discreetly feeding a magical potion to the soldiers and nobility of the kingdom for years. As far as I can tell, she didn't miss any of the soldiers and few of the nobles. It contained a time delayed spell that remained in the system until activated. She activated it tonight."

"Queen Regina," King George says completely shocked. "That can't be. I've met her several times. She can't be evil."

"But she is," the Blue Fairy says, also troubled. "I too would have said she was good. I don't like being wrong."

"You said she activated her potion tonight," James says. "What did it do?"

"It altered their memories," the Blue Fairy says. "They now have no recollection of either King Leopold or Snow White. As far as they're concerned Regina has always been queen and ruled alone."

"But she couldn't have fed the potion to everyone in the kingdom," Thomas says. "What happens when other people remind them of Snow and the king's existence?"

"She fed the potion to everyone in any position of power," the Blue Fairy answers, "and the potion makes it so that they are resistant to any attempts to restore their true memories. The only way to break the spell is to kill the witch."

"Why would she do this?" Ella asks.

"I don't have all the details, but from what I learned, Cora, the queen's mother, was a dark power-hungry monster who used her magic to abuse Regina as a girl," the Blue Fairy answers. "She forced Regina to marry the king and Regina resented both Leopold and Snow for it."

"I see," George says, absorbing the information. "What of King Leopold and Princess Snow White?"

"They managed to escape with one of the princess' guards who wasn't affected by the magic and her husband," the Blue Fairy answers. "They're on their way here now. Barring any problems, they should be here in three days."

"Wait her husband?" Ella asks, confused. "The princess has female guards?"

"Few women choose to become soldiers and some kingdoms don't accept women soldiers, but it isn't that unusual for female royalty to want female guards," James explains. "For one thing they make them feel less awkward when taking baths or sleeping."

"I see," Ella replies.

"Well then," George says, "I think we should adjourn for the moment while our defenses are prepared. We will alert all the soldiers in the kingdom of this threat and I want all of our soldiers tested for this potion. I don't want our kingdom to fall the same way."

"I will see to it at once," Marlow says.

"We should get back to our kingdom as well," Thomas says. "We need to inform my father of this threat."

"I shall provide extra soldiers to go with you," King George says. "We need to act as if we are in wartime. We will reconvene here as soon as King Leopold arrives to discuss the best strategy to counter this threat."

Everyone gets up from the table, leaving James unable to believe his biggest worry this morning was making a good impression at the ball.


	4. The Escape

Snow White stares in horror as the loving stepmother she has known all these years, changes into an evil witch in front of her eyes. She had no idea that she has caused Regina such misery. She thought back to all those years ago when she broke her promise to Regina. She only wanted to spare the woman the pain of losing her mother, but instead caused the death of the one she loved.

She watches in silent horror as Regina says she is going to kill her father, wanting to stop her, but still unable to believe this is really happening. Just before Regina reaches Leopold, there is a large explosion behind the queen. She quickly turns toward the sound of the disturbance to find fireworks going off in the castle.

"This way," Red's husband, Peter says coming out of a corner, holding a sword, "quickly."

Snow, Red, and Leopold follow Peter as the guards run to the throne room to investigate the disturbance.

"Peter, what are you doing here?" Red says. "I thought you were out of town delivering a shipment of weapons to the army."

"I was," Peter says, "but the driver on the wagon was the son of a prophet. He had only inherited some minor abilities, which weren't strong enough to warrant any special training, but he was adamant about my returning to the castle in time for tonight's ball. He said that if I didn't come the queen would kill all of you. I was so worried I wouldn't make it in time."

"You almost didn't," Red says. "Another few seconds and the king would be dead."

"So what's all this about?" Peter asks. "Why did the queen try to kill her husband?"

Leopold and Snow don't answer the question they just gaze silently ahead. "It's a long story," Red eventually replies. "I'll tell you later."

"If there is a later," Leopold says. "If what Regina says is true, the entire kingdom will be looking for us."

"Then we must flee the kingdom," Red says. "Your kingdom's strongest ally is King George's kingdom, correct?"

"Correct," Leopold answers. "We must flee there and come up with a battle plan."

"We'll never make it," Snow says in despair. "Regina will have the border sealed off long before we can reach it."

"True, but she wasn't expecting us to escape," Red says. "It will take time for her to organize the soldiers and you forget I'm an expert woodsman, I've run exercises with the guards and so far none of them have been able to track a trail I've hidden. We should be able to get to the border undetected."

"And once we're there?" Snow asks. "What happens then?"

"I'll think of something," Red answers.

They exit the castle quietly and quickly flee to the town surrounding it, which was in a state of confusion as the people who still remembered Leopold and Snow argued with the guards who insisted they never heard of them before.

The group made their way to Sam's tavern. Sam was a good friend of Peter's and occasionally made weapons for him.

"Your majesties." Sam bows to both Leopold and Snow, to the relief of all of them. "What's going on? For some reasons none of the guards remember you at all."

"It's the queen," Peter says. "She's turned to dark sorcery and used a spell to cloud the soldier's minds. From what she said, the spell has affected the entire army. She wants King Leopold dead."

"Queen Regina?" Sam asks in shock. "I don't believe it."

"Neither do I," Leopold says.

"Listen we don't have much time," Red says. "Do you still have the spare bow I left here the last time I was hunting?"

"Of course," Sam says.

"We'll also need provisions for a three day journey," Leopold says. "I'm afraid we won't be able to pay you until later."

"No worries," Sam says. He quickly takes the group to his back room, grabs Red's bow for her, and gives some of Peter's swords to both Leopold and Snow. He also gives each of them a pack filled with food and basic supplies. "So where are you headed?"

"It's safer if you don't know," Red says.

There is a commotion from the front room. "This inn is to be searched by order of the queen," a soldier says.

"Quickly," Sam says, motioning to the back door. "Go."

"Thank you for your help," Leopold says. "I will see that you are repaid for your kindness."

"Never mind about that, just survive to retake the kingdom," Sam says as the four leave.

* * *

After fleeing the town, the group moves in silence for the next few hours, following Red's instructions carefully in order to avoid alerting the soldiers sent to search for them. Leopold and Snow are both completely silent, only talking when responding to Peter or Red.

Red's expertise in the woods enables them to avoid the patrols easily. The group keeps up a brisk pace and by the time the sun is beginning to rise has made nearly a quarter of the journey to the border. They then came across a lone house in the woods.

"Should we risk going to the house?" Peter asks.

"From the looks of it, it's been abandoned for some time," Red says. "Wait here and I'll check it out."

While, Red goes to check the house, Peter turns to the silent royals. "How are you two holding up?" he asks. "I know that this can't be easy for you."

"No it isn't," Leopold says. "I truly loved Regina and I thought she loved me. I never knew that she harbored this hatred for all these years."

"This is all my fault," Snow says. "I should have kept my mouth shut when she told me to."

"Snow this is not your fault," Leopold says gently. "You were only a child, and you were trying to spare Regina the pain of being separated from her mother. You couldn't have known that her mother was a monster who didn't love her."

"I still don't understand," Snow says, beginning to cry. "How could anyone hurt their child like that?"

"I don't have an answer for you," Leopold says. "I can't imagine ever treating my child that way. Unfortunately, some people have no regard for others not even their own children."

"But I'm the one who caused Regina to turn evil," Snow says.

"No you didn't," Red says, rejoining the group. "Cora turned Regina into what she is. Even if you never said anything, I have a feeling Cora had prepared for the two of them running away. You can't blame yourself for this."

"I wish I could believe you," Snow says, becoming quiet once again.

"The house is abandoned," Red says. "We should rest for the day. It will be easier to move at night, but we'll need to be prepared, the search parties will most likely be a lot more organized tonight and more difficult to avoid."

"But I thought you said the patrols could never find you," Leopold says.

"Yes, but that's when I'm traveling by myself," Red answers. "A larger group, especially one unused to trekking through the woods is more difficult to hide. I've taught both Peter and Snow some basics, but I don't suppose you go out in the woods too often."

"Just my yearly hunting trip with King George," Leopold says.

"Then I'll try to teach you some of the basics before we head out tonight," Red says.

* * *

Regina sits in the throne room fuming over the loss of her prisoners. She wants to make Snow White suffer as she has suffered. Now she is gone and these incompetent soldiers can't find her. Regina's reign should be secure by now, but Leopold and Snow's escape has upset everything.

The potion she has given the soldiers will cloud their minds, making them obey orders they would never have carried out before, which will be useful in putting down any resistance from the lower class citizens. She knows there will be massive confusion in the first months of her takeover as the ones not under her spell try to understand what is going on, but now she has to contend with finding Leopold and Snow White too.

She knows that they will attempt to make it to the border. Their only hope now is to flee to a neighboring kingdom to get help. She knows she will encounter resistance from the neighboring kingdoms as word of what she has done spreads, but with the true leader of the kingdom dead, they would have no choice but to accept her rule or face a prolonged war. However, if the king and princess escape, an immediate attack on the kingdom will be imminent.

The king's most likely destination is King George's kingdom. That is the closest border to the castle and George is Leopold's strongest ally, which brought the greatest fear to Regina's mind. The Dark Oracle she had consulted when she began her plan told her she foresaw her defeat at the hands of Prince James and Snow White. That is why she has worked these last long years to keep them apart.

As her plan reached the final stages, she magically conjured a dragon with one mission…to kill Prince James. The dragon should have killed him, but somehow Prince James survived, although the dragon wounded him severely. Her spy in King George's castle told her no one had seen James at all since he slayed the dragon, so she had begun to suspect that he was actually dead and that George was covering it up for some reason. She had just received a message from her spy stating that James was back on his feet and at a party tonight.

The spy included in the report that he had discreetly used a spell to check for magical signatures and found none. There were no illusion charms or anything of the sort. The prince really had survived. If he and Snow met, it could mean her end. She has to prevent that at all costs.

She curses the fact that Red escaped. She is an exceptional tracker, skilled markswoman, and excellent at evading pursuits. Regina always enjoyed it when the newest 'expert' tracker boasted that no mere woman was a match for his skills and Red thoroughly humiliated him by evading his attempts to capture her or outfighting him. She hated playing the part of docile wife and Red allowed her the rare joy of seeing that a woman could be just as wily as a man could.

Except for the fact that Red is Snow's best friend, Regina has always admired and respected the girl. In fact, she has been preparing a special potion that would erase her memories of Snow. (Her werewolf condition made her highly resistant to magic, which made her immune to the potion she used on the rest of the soldiers.) She imagined making Red the captain of her guards and smiled at how Snow White would react to the sight of her friend doing her bidding.

Red's decision to leave with Snow has ruined that plan. She can no longer afford to take chances. She has to make sure they never cross the border, so she quickly draws up orders to end the pointless pursuit of them and focus all efforts at the border. She wants Snow White taken alive, but Red, Leopold, and Peter killed on sight. She cannot allow them to cross the border.

With that done, Regina heads to the dungeon to see how her dear mother is enjoying her new accommodations.


	5. Across the Border

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the last set-up chapter. The next chapter will be the first meeting of Snow White and Prince Charming.

Prince James finds he is right to think the ball was nothing compared to the real trials to come. He has spent most of the day in war council meetings, making plans on what to do if the queen invades. George and most of the advisors agree that they should make no plans for invasion without King Leopold, who, if everything goes well, will be in the castle in three days. The Blue Fairy, after consulting with the kingdom's wizards, has taken steps to make sure Regina cannot try a similar spell on their kingdom. She has also dispatched fairies to make similar preparations in other neighboring kingdoms.

After that, the Blue Fairy says she is heading off to find Leopold, Snow, and their companions. When the king asks how she will find them, she says by the use of magic. This greatly concerns James, who asks if Regina can use her magic to find them too. She assures them, Regina cannot. Snow's fairy godmother gave her the gift of protection from long-range spells. Regina's scrying spells will be unable to locate her or anyone with her.

After a long day, James goes to bed to rest for tomorrow's ordeals. He is surprised when one of his guards wakes him up only three hours later.

"Sir you are needed in the war council immediately," the man says.

"What for?" James asks, leaping out of bed and putting on his clothes.

"The Blue Fairy has returned with troubling news," the guard replies.

"King Leopold and Princess Snow?" James asks in fear. "Are they all right?"

"I don't know," he answers. "I was just told to come and wake you."

As soon as James finishes getting his clothes, he grabs his sword, and rushes to the war room. He is among the first to arrive, only Illom, General Lance, and the Blue Fairy are already there. One by one, the other advisors enter. The only one missing is King George, who is usually the first to arrive at these meetings. A few minutes later, King George finally arrives, looking very ill and followed by his healer, Isabella. George looks surprised to see the Blue Fairy and immediately, heads for his seat to call the meeting to order.

"Prince James," Isabella says gently, "may I speak with you for a moment in private after the meeting is over?"

"Of course," James answers, thinking that whatever she has to tell him can't possibly be good news.

"Why are you back so soon?" King George asks of the Blue Fairy. "I thought you were going to stay with King Leopold and Princess Snow until they crossed the border."

"That was my plan, but I couldn't get inside Leopold's kingdom," the Blue Fairy explains.

"What do you mean?" James asks. "How could mere soldiers stop the most powerful of all the fairies?"

"It wasn't the soldiers, it was a magical barrier," the Blue Fairy says. "The queen has used dark sorcery to erect a barrier of dark magic at the borders of her kingdom. No being comprised of light magic can cross it. Meaning no fairies can enter the kingdom or leave it."

"Impossible," chief wizard Marlow says. "There's no way to construct a barrier like that."

"Actually there is," the Blue Fairy says, "but it is the darkest of magics. There are certain tomes of dark magic that contain spells so powerful that the rest of the fairies and I destroyed all copies of them, to prevent such dark spells from being used. If Regina has found this spell, there is no telling what else she has access to."

"Why is this spell so dark and dangerous?" Prince James asks.

"The only way to cast a spell that powerful is to capture at least ten children under the age of thirteen and link them to the barrier," the Blue Fairy answers, "the spell takes their innocence and warps it, using it to repel light magic. The spell will also use up their life force at an alarming rate. If the queen does not release them within a week, they will certainly die and even if they are released, it could take years for them to recover from the abuse their bodies have sustained."

This news leaves King George visibly shaken. "I've known Regina for years," he says. "I can't believe she would stoop so low."

"I know it is difficult to accept, but it is true," the Blue Fairy answers.

"We need to put our wizards on high alert," King George commands. "Marlow I want you to personally escort a few of our strongest wizards to the area near the border. We need to prevent whatever spells Regina may send from reaching our kingdom."

"We should also prepare for the possibility of an influx of refugees," James adds. "I've heard a few dozen families from the nearest border towns arrived this morning. With the latest developments, we can expect many more."

"I'll make the preparations, for all the good it will do," General Lance says.

"What do you mean for all the good it will do?" Illom asks.

"If I were the queen, my first priority would be to seal the border," Lance answers. "I wouldn't want to risk King Leopold or Princess Snow escaping to find help. I wasn't worried before because I thought the Blue Fairy would be with them, but now there's no way to find them."

"I see," King George says. "Blue Fairy, your magic is not able to penetrate the barrier?"

"No," the Blue Fairy says, "but I will be able to sense Leopold and Snow as soon as they cross the border."

"If they cross the border," Lance says grimly.

"Well there is nothing we can do now," George says. "We'll wait for them for a week. If nothing has been heard from them by then, we'll assume them dead or captured and prepare plans for a full-scale war."

He adjourns the meeting and everyone starts to leave the room. When the only ones left are Isabella and James, the healer walks over to him.

"What is it?" James asks.

"There's no easy way to say this, but your father's illness is far more advanced than he has been letting on to anyone, even Illom and General Lance," Isabella says. "He's been limiting his appearances and has been spending most of his days in bed. He's forbidden me from saying anything to anyone, I think he even doubts my diagnosis, hoping I'm wrong, but I felt that you should know."

"How long does he have?" James asks.

"My latest diagnosis shows that he has less than a month to live," Isabella replies gently, "and with the strain this current situation is putting on him, I doubt he'll live to the end of the week. You need to prepare yourself to be leader of this kingdom."

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. With the way his lessons had been progressing, he felt that he was ready to ease into being ruler, maybe make some minor changes to some laws he disagreed with. Look over the kingdom on his inauguration tour, but now it looks like he'll be leading the kingdom into war. His actions may very well decide the lives of thousands of people. He is nowhere near ready to rule a kingdom during wartime and with the situation at the border, if his army is successful in deposing Regina, there will be no rightful ruler for the kingdom. James will most likely have to annex it to his kingdom and rule them jointly, which would be no easy task.

When he looks up to ask further questions of the healer, to find out if there is any hope at all, James finds that she is gone, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Four days after leaving the castle, Snow White is becoming worried. The four of them haven't seen any soldiers since their narrow escape at the Sam's tavern. Rather than making Snow feel better, it makes her feel nervous and she can sense her companions are nervous as well.

"We're almost to the border, another few hours and we'll be there," Red says.

As she says this, the group spots a young woman of about sixteen accompanying a boy who looks ten and another girl who can't be more than five. When she sees the girl collapse Snow immediately runs over to them.

"Halt, who are you?" the woman asks, raising her bow.

"We're just travelers," Snow says quickly. "We're heading for the border."

"Well then you can turn back," the woman says bitterly, as she turns to the little girl.

"Why?" Red asks, as she, Leopold, and Peter come to join them.

"Dark sorcery has fallen over the kingdom," she replies. "King Leopold and Princess Snow are dead and the queen has been possessed by a dark demon."

"We know," Red says, thinking it best they don't reveal their real identities just yet. "That's why we're fleeing the kingdom."

"Don't bother," the woman says. "Some of the people in my village tried that, but the guards have barricaded the entire border. They check anyone trying to cross the border, saying that they're looking for a dark criminal trying to flee the kingdom, but once they determine that the person they're seeking isn't in the group, they slaughter them wholesale."

"What?" Leopold asks in shock. "They wouldn't do that."

"My parents thought that too," the woman says, sobbing, "but they've been bewitched by sorcery. They murdered my whole family in front of me, my parents, my grandparents, my brother and his wife, and their child. He was only two weeks old! How could they do that?"

"A two week old baby," Snow says in horror. "They couldn't."

"But they did," the woman says.

"How did you escape?" Snow asks.

"I didn't," she answers. "They let me go to tell others about what would happen if they try to cross the border, but that's not the worst of it."

"What could be worse than that?" Peter asks.

"After they let me go, I headed back to my home village," she says, starting to sob again, "but when I got there, it was burned to the ground. Apparently, some of the citizens tried to resist the queen and she ordered it burnt to the ground as an object lesson. These two were the only survivors, I saw."

"No!" Snow says loudly while Leopold slumps to the ground, as if in defeat. "I will not let this stand."

"You won't let it stand?" the woman asks in disbelief. "What could you possibly do? There is no hope left."

"There is always hope," a female voice says from behind her.

"Who are you?" the woman asks as the whole group turns to see a girl wearing a pink outfit come toward them.

"I am Nova," she replies, "a fairy godmother in training."

Nova then takes some fairy dust from her pocket and sprinkles it on the girl who collapsed. She instantly wakes up and looks around.

"Fairy Nova," Snow says, "it is always an honor to meet a fairy."

"Thank you, your majesty," Nova says, "but I'm afraid there is no time for pleasantries. You need to get out of the kingdom at once. The entire kingdom has been ensnared in dark magic, and if we don't act soon it will bring about another catastrophe as great as the Ontarut War."

Snow pales again, that war was the darkest period in the entire history of the world and caused the complete destruction of two large kingdoms.

"You're King Leopold and Princess Snow," the woman says. "You're still alive."

"Yes we are," Snow says, "and I vow to you that your family's death will not go unpunished. We are going to make our way to the kingdom of King George, gather our allies, and retake our kingdom."

"Oh and how are you going to accomplish that?" the girl asks.

"With magic," Nova says. "Regina has cast a barrier around the border to keep any fairies from crossing it and has begun trying to capture the ones still inside to drain their magic. I'll cast some spells to confuse the guards and then lure the rest of them away."

"You can't," Snow says. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself."

"I have no intention of sacrificing myself," Nova says. "I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve that will make it hard for the evil queen to catch me, but the important thing is for you to get to King George. You know all the strengths and weaknesses of this kingdom. You must stop Regina at all costs."

"We will," Leopold says. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Deliver this letter to the Blue Fairy," she says. "It contains all the intelligence I was able to gather on Regina's plans."

"I will," Leopold says. "Regina may have been abused by her mother, but there is no excuse for the acts she is perpetrating on the people of this kingdom."

"Is there anything else we can do for you?" Snow asks. "Any messages you want to give to loved ones?"

Nova hesitates for a moment before replying, "If you meet a dwarf named Dreamy tell him I still love him and hope that he is happy."

"I will," Snow promises.

"It's time to go," Nova says, changing from her full-size human form into her small fairy form and flying away.

"Are you coming with us?" Red asks to the three refugees.

"Yes," the woman says after a moment. "I think if anyone can get us to safety, it will be you."

"Okay let's go," Peter says.

* * *

Nova flies a hundred yards to where Regina's fairy barrier is located and sets up her diversion. She plans to activate it just before Leopold and Snow's group arrives at the border. This will give them the best chance of getting across the border. As soon as she sees the group approach, she goes into action.

Instantly two giant dragons appear in the sky and fly toward the border guards. Most of the guards drop their weapons in shock and flee. Facing a single dragon is something only the bravest soldiers will do. Fighting two dragons is suicidal. A couple of the guards keep their cool and attempt to turn their weapons on the beasts.

The weapons can't actually do any damage, however, since the dragons are merely illusions.

Leopold, upon seeing the dragons, smiles in gratitude. "Let's go," he says.

The group manages to reach the border crossing, since all the soldiers who haven't fled are busy fighting the illusionary dragons. The group manages to get across the border, but as they cross, the illusion gives out. The soldiers stare at where the dragons were for a moment before the commander, realizes someone has tricked him.

"It's an illusion!" he bellows. "Check the border!"

All eyes turn to the border and the soldiers spot the group.

"It's them!" one of the soldiers yells. "The criminals the queen is looking for."

"After them!" the commander orders.

The soldiers don't stop at the border, knowing what will happen if the supposed criminals escape, but before they can reach them an entire regiment of King George's soldiers appears before them. Marlow and the Blue Fairy had concealed them using an invisibility spell.

"More illusions," the commander spits, before an arrow hits him in the leg.

"We're not illusions," the Blue Fairy says. "We were merely hidden from view by an invisibility spell."

"I don't care," the commander says. "We want the queen's prisoners back."

"They're not the queen's prisoners," Marlow says. "This is your rightful king and princess. I know you don't remember them because of the queen's dark magic, which is the only reason you're not dead right now, but if you don't get out of this kingdom right now, I'll remedy that."

"What!" the commander bellows. "You mean that you're going to attempt to put these common criminals on the throne and how dare you insult my queen! When her Majesty learns of this, it will mean all-out war."

Then, seeing he is vastly outnumbered, he crosses back over the border to report this fiasco to Queen Regina, hoping that she will not punish him as a result.


	6. First Meeting

Snow arrives at the castle with a newfound sense of determination. She has wallowed in a sense of self-pity since learning the truth about what happened to Daniel, but she won't do it any longer. True, she still blames herself for the stable boy's death, but that is no excuse for what Regina is doing to her people. There is no comparing a little girl betraying someone's trust, for what she thought was a good reason, because she didn't know any better and the wholesale slaughter of innocent people. Since finding out what Regina is doing, she vows to see her brought to justice.

As soon as the group arrives, her father goes off for a private audience with King George and Red and Peter are off helping the three refugees they rescued settle in, leaving Snow alone, which surprises her. She thought that someone would assign some guards to her, but figures that whoever should have must have forgotten with all the preparations for the possible war, and in the plain traveling clothes, she is wearing, she doesn't look much like the princess she is.

Still that suits her fine. She doesn't feel like having guards surround her right now. Eventually, someone will realize she is unattended and send guards for her. She is sure someone will punish whoever is responsible for leaving her unattended, but if it were her kingdom, she would do the same to anyone not making sure someone is attending to royal guests, no matter the excuse.

Since she doesn't want to worry her father, she decides to take only a quick tour of the town that surrounds the castle. It is her first time in this kingdom and she is amazed to see that the town is actually inside the castle walls. She decides to check out the marketplace and finds an amazing selection of goods.

She walks around for a while looking at various things, when she sees something that astounds her. It is a handcrafted elegant jewelry box. Very similar to the one her mother had when she was a small child. It is one of her favorite keepsakes of her mother. Her father had all of her mother's possessions put into storage after her death, saying it was too painful to look at them, but Snow would often sneak off to the storage room to look at the box to remember all the good times she had with her mother.

Then a few months after her father and Regina were married, some thief broke in and stole all her mother's possessions. They never did catch the thief, despite massive efforts into repairing such an extraordinary breach of security. Now, knowing what she does, she wonders if Regina knew of her visits and staged the robbery to hurt her.

"Hello miss," a man says, getting her attention. "Are you interested in buying the jewelry box?"

"Yes... I mean no," Snow says. "I'm afraid I don't have any money."

"Ah," the man says. "You must be one of the refugees that arrived with King Leopold's party."

"Yes I am," Snow says, deciding it would be best not to tell this man who she is. "Did you make this yourself?"

"Aye," the man says. "My boy and I made it. It's the second project we worked on together, the first I'm saving for sentimental reasons."

"I see," Snow says. "You and your boy must be very talented."

"Thank you," the man says. "My name is Geppetto and my boy is Pinocchio. He's out delivering some packages, but I'm sure he'd love to meet you."

"I'm sure he would," Snow says, misunderstanding his intention, "but with everything going on I'm not really interested in meeting potential suitors right now."

Geppetto laughs. "I don't think he's looking for suitors either," he says. "Besides if he were you'd be about twenty years too old, he's only a small child."

Snow flushes. "I'm sorry," she says. "I meant no disrespect. I just assumed he would be..."

"Older," Geppetto finishes. "Many people do. I never met the right woman, never had a family, even though I wanted one. So one day I made a wish for a son and my prayers were answered."

"I see, so he's not biologically your son," Snow says.

"No, but I love him just as if he were," Geppetto replies. "He's all I ever wanted."

"Well I'm glad he found you," Snow says.

"Thank..." Geppetto begins, when someone knocks Snow to the ground, interrupting him. The man then grabs Snow's bag and runs off. "Stop thief!" he yells as he rushes over to help the fallen girl.

* * *

Elsewhere, Prince James is enjoying a rare moment of peace. The last couple of days, he's spent nearly every waking moment in strategy meetings preparing for what now appears to be an inevitable war. Every day new reports of atrocities from across the border are coming in. The acts that Queen Regina commits are sickening to him and every member of the war council.

King Leopold finally arrived an hour ago and entered a private audience with King George to discuss plans for taking back his kingdom. No one else was attending them. Prince James thought he should, but George refused, even though it was now apparent that James would be the one leading the attack.

It has become obvious to everyone now that George's illness is reaching its final stages. He has been unable to attend a single war council meeting for the last two days, and he spends all his time in bed. It was a struggle for him to get out of bed to greet King Leopold. James has an awful feeling that George won't live through the meeting, so he decides to take a walk through the marketplace to clear his thoughts. It might be his last chance for rest for quite some time. James is just about to head back to the council when he comes upon a girl of about seven crying.

"What's wrong?" James asks her.

"I was robbed," the girl says. "A pickpocket stole all my money."

"He did?" James asks.

"Yes," the girl answers. "My mother is sick, and she sent me to the market to get some medicine for her."

"What about your father?" James asks.

"He's a soldier," the girl replies. "He normally guards the castle, but a few days ago he was sent to the border and when I ask my mother why, she gets very quiet. I'm not sure what's going on, but there have been rumors that a war's about to start."

"Don't worry," James says. "We'll find that thief, and even if we don't I'll personally make sure that your mother gets that medicine."

"That's very nice of you," the girl says, "but it's not your job."

"Actually it is," he says. "Do you know who I am?"

"No," the girl answers.

"I'm Prince James," he says, "and it's my responsibility to make sure that the families of my soldiers are taken care of."

"The prince?" the girl asks, looking at him, becoming white. "No I can't bother you with something like this."

"Nonsense," James says. "This is my castle, and if there's a thief inside it, it is my responsibility to find him. If he isn't stopped who knows what he might steal next?"

As he says this, he hears a shout of 'Stop thief' and sees a man running away at top speed.

"Wait here," James says, and then quickly takes off after him.

After a minute, James catches up with him and tackles him to the ground. The man pulls out a knife and moves in to stab the prince, but James easily deflects it, and knocks it out of his hand.

A few seconds later, the castle guards arrive and take him into custody. They look over his person and find several sacks of money, assorted rings, knives, spices, dolls, and gold goblets from the dining hall.

"Well it looks like you've been busy," James says, as he walks back to the young girl. "Is this the man that robbed you?"

"Yes it is," the girl says, and then looks at the items. "This is my pouch and my doll!" she exclaims snatching them up.

As she says this, Snow and Geppetto join the group. "This is my satchel," Snow says.

"And that is a toy I am working on for my son," Geppetto adds, pointing to a wooden top that is in the pile of loot.

James hands the pouch to Snow and the toy to Geppetto without a word and then turns to the guards. "See that he is taken to the dungeon. Then try to return the rest of the items to their owners." He turns to the thief. "Really stealing children's toys, how low can you get?"

"I'll remember you," the man says. "When I get out of the dungeon, I swear I'll kill you."

"I'd hold your tongue, naïve," one of the guards says as he takes the man away. "Threatening to kill the prince is a hanging offense."

"You're Prince James?" Snow asks in surprise, noticing the elegant clothes he is wearing for the first time. "I didn't think a prince would waste his time chasing common criminals."

"I do if I'm in the vicinity of the crime," James says, "and I take particular offense at thieves robbing the residents and guests of my castle."

He then turns to the little girl. "Come on, I'll take you to get the medicine for your mother to make sure nothing else happens to you," he says.

"No I couldn't impose on you," the girl objects.

"It's no imposition," James assures her. "I'm just out for a walk today while my father is in a private meeting, and I wasn't headed anywhere in particular so walking to the herbalist and then to your house won't be any inconvenience."

"Okay," the girl says. "By the way by name is Caitlin."

"Okay, Caitlin," James says, smiling. "Let's go."

Snow watches the encounter, unable to believe that a prince is being this kind to a strange child. It is the kindest act she has ever witnessed a prince perform. Everything she heard about James led her to believe that he is a self-centered bully who hates children and thinks only of how many women he can bed.

Snow stops cold in mid-thought. Every single bad thing she heard about James was from her stepmother. In fact, she was the one who organized every party she attended. Every prince she met was arrogant, except for Prince Thomas and Regina wasn't the one who invited him. Knowing what she does now, she thinks Regina must have invited only the worst of the worst princes and nobles to her parties. Ones she knew Snow would never ever fall in love with. So she figures with the amount of effort Regina put in to discrediting him, James must actually be a good, kind leader. Not that she is interested in suitors right now, but she thinks it would be nice to get to know the man he actually is, rather than the man portrayed in the lies that Regina told about him all these years.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you," Snow says. "It is my first time in this castle, and I fear getting robbed again."

"I regret that your first visit to our castle was marred by this incident," James says, "but thieves aren't a big problem. Still, feel free to accompany us."

"Thank you," Snow says.

"Well if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my shop," Geppetto says.

"Of course, Geppetto," Prince James says, "and tell, Pinocchio I said hello. Both of you did an excellent job on the repairs to the castle's sewing room."

"Thank you, your majesty," Geppetto says, bowing.

* * *

A half-hour later, the three of them arrive at the girl's house having gotten the medicine for her mother. Snow is very impressed at the way James is with the child. He appears to be a natural with children, and very reassuring. Exactly what she thought a prince should be. She lost count of how many times she wondered if he was an anomaly or there were many princes like him and Regina had just done a good job of keeping them from her.

"Well here you are," James says. "I hope your mother gets better soon."

"I'm sure she will," Caitlin replies. "Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you, but I really have to be going," James answers.

"Yes and my father will be wondering where I've gotten to," Snow adds.

"Okay. Thank you again for your help," Caitlin says. "My father always talks about what a great man you are, now I know what he's talking about."

Once again, a feeling of shame washes over James as he realizes that she is talking about his dead brother, and he wonders how long it will be before he feels like he isn't living a lie…if he ever does.

"Oh and it was nice meeting you too, lady," Caitlin says to Snow.

"It was a pleasure meeting you too," Snow says as the girl goes in her house.

Snow turns to James, whom she hasn't spoken to much as they walked.

"What is it?" James asks.

"It's nothing," Snow responds.

"No it's not," James says. "You've been acting as if everything I did all day surprised and shocked you to the core."

"It did," Snow says. "I've heard some unflattering things about you from my stepmother. I've only now come to realize that most of what she told me isn't true. You acted the exact opposite of what she told me about you. You were very kind and reassuring to that girl today, a real Prince Charming."

"Thank you," James says. "I hope that I didn't do anything to upset your stepmother and I just realized I didn't catch your name."

Snow suspected that James didn't recognize her or he probably would have said something by now. She could lie about her name to see how he reacts to her in a normal setting, but quickly rejects the idea. He will soon find out who she is.

"Snow White," she answers.

"Princess Snow," James says in shock. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"After I saw you with the girl, I was shocked and wanted to see how you acted around her in a natural setting," Snow explains. "My stepmother, the queen said a lot of mean things about you and seeing you act so... charming, made me realize that she had been sabotaging my parties all my life. All the potential suitors I ever met, with a few rare exceptions were completely awful and not suited to me at all."

"I see," James says. "I can't believe she managed to fool so many people for so long. I wonder how someone could become so evil."

"It was mostly her mother's fault," Snow says. "From what I learned, her mother was a power-hungry witch who orchestrated her marriage to my father, so she could be the mother of the queen."

Snow launches into the whole story, telling James about how she met Regina, how Regina had rescued her and her father proposed to her in response. Then how Snow had found Regina kissing Daniel, how Regina made her promise not to tell anyone about her plans to run away and how Regina's mother had tricked Snow into revealing the information to her.

"And just before we fled the castle, Regina told me Daniel was killed because of what I told Cora," Snow finishes, crying. "So some part of me can't help feeling that all this is my fault."

"It's not," James says. "You were only a child and thought you were doing the right thing, helping a mother and daughter stay together. You couldn't have known what a monster Cora was."

"I keep telling myself that," Snow says, "but part of me can't quite accept it and now my people are suffering for it."

"Don't worry about it," James says, putting his arms around Snow. "I promise you we will stop Regina and regain your kingdom."

"Thank you," Snow says, feeling her sobbing begin to stop. "You really are a Prince Charming. In fact, I think I'll call you that from now on."

"Thanks," James says, smiling and then sobers. "Although I don't think I'll be a prince much longer."

"What?" Snow says frowning. "How can you not be a prince anymore?"

"The king, my father is very ill," James explains. "He was given less than a year to live right around the time of my fight with the dragon, but the strain this situation has put him under has accelerated the disease's progression."

"How much time does he have left?" Snow asks, in concern.

"The healer told me it's only a matter of days," James says. "The last two days he hasn't been able to get out of bed at all. It took all his remaining energy to get up to greet King Leopold this morning. I have a terrible feeling that when I get back, I'll find my father dead."

"That's awful," Snow says. "But if he's dying, why are you out here instead of by his side?"

"I already said my goodbyes to him," James says. "He's also a proud man and I don't think he's truly accepted the fact that he is nearing his end. He insisted on meeting your father alone and forbade me from attending the meeting, so I decided to take the opportunity to go for a walk. I figure it may be some time before I get another moment to myself."

"I see," Snow says, then, pauses. "I see that you are troubled."

"I just expected to have more time before I took the throne," James explains, "and I never imagined having to do it under such circumstances. This kingdom hasn't fought a full-scale war for nearly three centuries and I'm not sure if you read the latest reports from your kingdom, but the situation there is worsening by the hour. I fear that win or lose a lot of my soldiers will die before this is over."

"All new leaders in such circumstances would be troubled by this," Snow says, "but you won't be alone, you'll have your advisors and allies, including the counsel of my father and myself."

"Thank you, Snow," James says. "I think we should be getting back now. The meeting between our fathers should be over by now and they'll be convening a war meeting to discuss our plan of action. I'll also have to have a word with the captain of the guards. I know most of our experienced guards have been dispatched to the border, but letting you go off without a guard is inexcusable."

"Don't be too hard on them," Snow says.

"I won't be overly harsh, but they need to be punished," James says. "You were robbed. If that man had been something besides a pickpocket, he might have had killed you. What would you do in my place?"

"Probably the same thing," Snow admits, "but I would appreciate it if you don't mention this incident to my father. I don't want to add any more worries to his plate. Perhaps you could tell him you were giving me a short tour of the castle."

"Consider it done," James says. "I'll handle the matter with the guards discreetly."

"Thank you," Snow says.

They walk back to the castle, continuing their talk, both of them feeling happier than they have in days.


	7. The King is Dead

King Leopold exits his meeting with King George feeling very concerned. The entire meeting it looked as though George might die at any moment. By the end of the meeting, he couldn't even stand up and his healer had to have him carried out. After George dismisses him, Leopold lingers and overhears the healer saying that she thinks George won't survive the night.

This news concerns Leopold greatly since from his last reports the healer has confined Prince James to bed-rest. If George is hiding the extent of his illness and James is unable to lead, it could cause chaos in the kingdom, a situation that could prove disastrous at the best of times, but in this situation, will almost certainly spell certain doom.

"Excuse me, miss," Leopold turns to one of the castle maids. "Do you know where Prince James is?"

"I believe I saw him out taking a tour of the castle," the maid says. "The healer only declared him fully recovered the night of Regina's attack and since then he spends most of his time in war meetings. He's spent the last few days worrying about the possible war, as well as the health of..." she trails off.

"Of his father," Leopold finishes. "Only a fool could miss how ill he is."

"Yes, he has been good at hiding it, but the strain he's been under has accelerated it," the maid says. "I heard rumors that he was planning to hand the kingdom over to James at the end of the party that was held on the night we heard the news, but those plans were interrupted by our wizards detecting Queen Regina's dark sorcery..." once again she trails off.

"I'm sorry I've said too much," she says.

"No, that's fine," Leopold says. "But James definitely is well?"

"Yes," she says. "He's been fully briefed on all matters of the kingdom and I believe he is ready to take over."

"That's good to know," Leopold says. "I should go find him, but first I need to locate my daughter. Do you know where she is?"

"I'm not sure," the maid answers. "Perhaps one of the castle guards will know."

Leopold nods and turns back to the entrance to the inner castle to ask one of the guards there where Snow went. He knows asking one the two guards that were with him will be pointless since they accompanied him to the meeting room and haven't left the entranceway.

He is very worried about his daughter. She has been very despondent since Regina revealed her treachery and to tell the truth he is worried about it too. He married Regina fifteen years ago and never once did he realize she was planning such treachery. True, he didn't love her as he did his first wife. This was more a political marriage than one of love, but he thought that was what Regina truly wanted. He completely misread the intentions of both Cora and Regina, which he knows could cause the deaths of hundreds, possibly thousands of his subjects. If he regains control of his kingdom, he doesn't know how he can ever trust himself to rule again.

He pushes these thoughts out of his mind at once. He has failed his kingdom once he cannot afford to do so again. His real agony right now is for his daughter, Snow. He has never seen her so despondent. He has a real fear that she will never again feel happiness, so it is to his great shock that he sees her entering the castle laughing.

"So one the guards, said that the test must have been rigged," Snow says, "and Red said it was a fair test, and to prove it she said she could beat the two of them fully armed with one-hand tied behind her back."

"And then what happened?" a voice Leopold recognizes as belonging to Prince James asks.

"The two guards looked at her as if she had gone insane, saying no little girl could beat one of them, let alone both of them," Snow continues. "So Red got a piece of rope and had me tie one of her hands behind her back. Then she said that if either one of them could touch her with their swords, the position would be theirs."

"She didn't," James says in disbelief.

"She did," Snow says, continuing to laugh at the memory.

"What happened then?" James asks.

"The first man drew his sword and rushed Red, figuring her to be an easy mark," Snow says. "Red didn't even attempt to get out of his way. At the last second, she dodged out of the sword's path, grabbed it with her free hand, and kicked the man to the ground. Then, she turned to the second, expertly knocked the sword out of his hand, and put the tip of the blade to his throat."

"The first man was so enraged he said he was going to kill me," Red says, walking up to them. "He startled me, wrestled me to the ground and I saw in his eyes he meant to do it."

"What happened then?" James asks concerned, although he can see Red obviously survived the encounter.

"I managed to break free of his grasp and in the process broke both of his legs," Red says. "He couldn't walk for six months and when he recovered he was sent to the dungeons. After that, no one dared called me too weak to be the captain of Snow's guard."

"I'm Prince James," he says, introducing himself to Red. "I am pleased to meet you. Snow was just telling me all about you."

"I can see that," Red says as she turns to Snow, scrutinizing her.

"What?" Snow asks.

"When we arrived here, I thought you would never smile again and now I find you laughing," Red says.

Snow blushes, shocking Leopold since she's never shown the slightest interest in any of her potential suitors. Now, after only a few hours with this prince, she is actually blushing.

It is then that Snow notices him. "Father," she says as she rushes up to greet him. "How did your meeting with King George go?"

"Not well I'm afraid," Leopold says. "The situation in our kingdom is growing dire and it appears Regina is making preparations to invade this kingdom. Also, I don't know how to break it to you but King George, he is..."

"Dying," Snow finishes. "I know Prince Cha... James told me when he was giving me a tour of the town."

"I see," Leopold says.

"Did you want me to assemble the war council?" James asks.

"In an hour," Leopold says. "First I would like to talk to you in private since unless I am mistaken it will most likely be you running the war."

"Yes," James replies. "I asked my father for permission to attend the meeting between the two of you, but he is a proud man. I think he made his peace before your kingdom fell, but dying during the greatest crisis this kingdom has faced in centuries is not easy."

"Snow, go with Red and return to your quarters. I have instructed Chief Advisor Illom to meet you there within the hour. He will bring you up to speed on all the information he's gathered about the state of our kingdom," Leopold informs her.

"Yes father," Snow says and she and Red head off.

* * *

Red escorts Snow back to the chambers the king has assigned her. As soon as she closes the doors and they are alone, Red pounces on her friend.

"Okay, spill," Red says. "What's going on with you and the prince?"

"Nothing," Snow replies, defensively.

"Come on," Red says. "I know you. When I left, you this morning you were depressed and barely speaking and when I found you with the prince you were laughing like you were happier than you've been in years. Now tell me what happened."

"All right," Snow relents. "Well in all the confusion of our arrival, someone forgot to assign me guards, so I decided to explore the castle grounds by myself."

"You didn't!" Red admonishes. "Don't you know how dangerous that is, especially since your stepmother wants to kill you!"

"Yes, I know it was foolish," Snow says. "I promise I won't do it again. Now do you want to hear the rest of the story?"

"Of course," Red says. "Go on."

"Well I was amazed that a town was actually built within the castle structure, so I decided to look in the marketplace. There I met a nice craftsman who was selling finely crafted merchandise. One of the items was a jewelry box that reminded me of my mother's and I was admiring it when a pickpocket grabbed my bag."

"You were attacked!" Red exclaims. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Snow says. "Anyway Geppetto, the craftsman I was telling you about, stated shouting for someone to stop the thief and next thing I knew the prince himself had tackled the thief to the ground."

"The prince tackled a common thief?" Red says impressed. "Not too many princes I've heard of would do that."

"I know," Snow says. "When he introduced himself, I was in shock. It completely contradicted everything I ever heard about him. Then I realized that all the nasty things I heard about him were from my stepmother and I decided to accompany him. It turned out that he was looking for the thief because he stole money from a little girl who was buying medicine for her sick mother."

"A real gentleman," Red says.

"Yes, he even personally escorted the child to get the medicine and then to her home," Snow says. "I tagged along and he was so nice to the girl and me as well, even though he didn't know I was a princess at the time, that I called him Prince Charming."

"You didn't!" Red says. "You actually called him Prince Charming?"

"I did," Snow confirms, beginning to blush. "I didn't think of it at the time, but I guess that could have been kind of forward of me."

"Did he say anything about it?" Red asks.

"No, he didn't seem to mind at all," Snow answers.

"What happened then?" Red asks.

"Well then I told him who I was and I started talking about Regina and about how Daniel died," Snow says. "He was very kind about it and helped cheer me up. Then he started talking about how his father was dying and how he would soon take over the kingdom."

"Not exactly the way he hoped to take over, is it?" Red asks.

"Not really," Snow says.

"Okay, enough depressing talk," Red declares. "So what do you think of him?"

"From what I've seen of him so far, he's very brave and kind," Snow says.

"He's also really handsome," Red adds.

"There's that too," Snow says, smiling.

"See I told you you'd find someone you'd be interested in," Red says.

"I suppose you were right," Snow says, then sobers. "While I was talking with him, I realized that most of my potential suitors were awful because Regina organized the parties. I have a feeling that all the princes and other nobles that could never make it to my parties because of the affairs of their kingdoms were a lie. Regina probably never invited anyone I would likely be interested in then lied about them not being able to show up."

"You know, you're probably right," Red says.

"I can't condone what she has done, but I still can't help feeling partly responsible for what Regina has become," Snow says.

"I know," Red says, "but in the end it was Cora who killed Regina's love and Regina who decided to get revenge for it."

Snow is about to reply, when a knock on the door interrupts her.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, my lady," a maid says, "but the prince has asked that you meet him in the war council room immediately,"

"Of course," Snow says. "Just give me a moment to get presentable."

"Do you want me to help you?" the maid asks.

"No, Red should be able to help me," Snow says.

"Of course, my lady," the maid says. "I'll wait right here."

* * *

As soon as James and Leopold enter the empty war council room, they immediately start discussing the problems they face."The situation in my kingdom is worse than I imagined," Leopold says. "I don't see that there is any other option but a full-scale invasion, which would lead to the deaths of many of my soldiers whose only crime is being brainwashed."

"I've been working on an alternative," James says. "I have the Blue Fairy and some of our wizards trying to come up with a way for a small strike force to get to your castle. Armed with enough magical weapons, they may be able to kill the queen. Then the problem would be eliminated."

Leopold is stunned. "I don't condone assassination and I'm shocked to hear you suggest it," he says. "Assassination of a political leader would only lead to chaos."

"Ordinarily yes," James says, "and under normal circumstances I wouldn't suggest it either, but according to the Blue Fairy if Regina is killed her spell will be broken. Everyone affected by her potion would be freed and the problem would be solved without the needless deaths of your soldiers."

Leopold considers James' words. "I had not been told Regina's death would break her spell," he says. "If what you say is true, then what you propose would be a preferable to slaughtering my own loyal soldiers whose only crime was to trust my wife."

It is then James notices Leopold sag slightly.

"If I may ask, how are you holding up?" James asks.

"I'm doing well," Leopold says. "I am determined to regain my kingdom."

"That isn't what I mean," James says. "I know your resolve to help your subjects is resolute, but being betrayed by your wife couldn't have been easy for you. I know that if someone I loved betrayed me like that, I wouldn't be holding up too well. Anything you say will be between the two of us. You have my word."

Leopold thinks over his words for a minute before responding. "This situation with Regina has me doubting my abilities as a ruler," he admits. "She was my wife for fifteen years and in all that time I never noticed that she only married me because her mother forced her too, that she was miserable or that she was plotting against me."

James considers this for a moment. "I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now. To be betrayed like that by one of the people you love most would break a lesser man, but you are a king," James says. "One of the first things I was taught when learning how to rule is that you must always put your subjects first, and inspire confidence in them, no matter how you feel or what it may cost you. I know this is the most difficult situation you will ever face, but your people need you now more than ever."

"Thank you," Leopold says. "I needed to be reminded of that. I just wish things could have been different. Perhaps if Regina had come to me about her mother, I could have done something, but it's too late for that now. Now I am going to have to send out assassins to kill her."

"There are still some problems with this plan, though," James says, "but I'd prefer to discuss them with the full war council."

"Very well," Leopold says, and then pauses.

"Is there something else you wish to ask me?" James asks.

"Yes it's about my daughter," Leopold says. "When we got here, I worried about her sinking into depression over what had happened and just now I found her laughing."

James pauses for a brief minute, remembering his promise to Snow about not worrying her father too much.

"When I first saw her, I saw how depressed she was, so I offered to give her a tour of the town to try to get her mind off things," James says. "I took her to the workshop of a local expert craftsman who makes a variety of objects and even helps with repairs to the castle. After that, we ran into the daughter of one of the guards dispatched to the border on the way to buy medicine for her ailing mother. I decided to escort her to make sure she was safe. I think helping the girl helped cheer Snow up a bit."

"Yes helping children would lift her spirits," Leopold agrees. "She is always at her happiest helping others."

Before Leopold can say anything else, a healer runs up to Prince James.

"Sire I bring terrible news," the healer says. "The king has just died."

"What?" James asks, knowing this was coming but still not ready for it.

"As you know the strain this crisis put on him has caused his illness to advance," the healer says. "He just suffered a massive heart attack."

"I see," James says. "Who else knows?"

"Just the three of us and Illom," the healer says, "although we can't keep this quiet for long."

"Summon my advisors," James instructs. "I must prepare to address the people."

"But don't you want to grieve for him?" the healer asks.

"I don't have time for that now," James says. "My first duty is to the kingdom. I need to keep the people calm and once Regina learns that the king has died she will attempt an attack thinking the kingdom is in disarray. We need to be prepared. Return to you duties for now and keep quiet about my father's death until it is officially announced."

"Of course, your majesty," she says, then bows and leaves.

"Excuse me your highness, but I have preparations to make," James says. "We'll reconvene the war council later this evening."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Leopold says.

"Thank you," James replies as Leopold leaves. Then, he sits down at the head of the table, preparing for what will most likely be a very long night.


End file.
